Learn which characters will be joining the third season of Game of Thrones

As GAME OF THRONES wraps up it’s second season, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have already compiled a list of the characters who will definitely be in the next season. As to avoid spoilers of any sort, I am only including new characters and not referencing any characters who will not be coming back.

Here is the list:

Mance Rayder: A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.

Daario Naharis: A confident and seductive warrior.

Jojen Reed; Meera Reed: A teenage brother and sister duo with special insights.

Edmure Tully: A brash young member of the Tully family.

Ser Brynden Tully (The Blackfish): Catelyn Stark’s uncle.

Lady Selyse Florent: Stannis Baratheon’s wife.

Shireen: Stannis’ daughter.

Olenna Redwyne (The Queen of Thorns): Margaery Tyrell’s sharp-witted grandmother.

Beric Dondarrion: A skilled knight who is the leader of the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners.

Thoros of Myr: A red priest who follows the same religion as Melisandre.

Tormund Giantsbane: A Wildling raider.

According to Benioff and Weiss “It’s important to point out that that we have the largest cast on television right now. We introduced dozens of new characters in season two. If you hurl 300 characters at an audience, the story collapses under the weight of too many faces, too many names, and too many subplots. We need to be just as mindful of the audience members who have never read the books as we are of the readers; the series will fail if we only appeal to those who already know the characters. So we try to be parsimonious about how many new roles we introduce to the story and when we introduce them.”

I myself have not read the books (they are currently in my Top 50 out of the 1400 books on my tablet), but please let me know if any vital characters from A Storm of Swords are missing.